Now that the Rangers have taken the progressive step of hiring the acclaimed Benoit Allaire as their full-time goaltending coach, one would hope they would get serious about getting Al Montoya under contract in order that the teacher and prized pupil would have this year together in Hartford under relatively no pressure, given the mounting likelihood that there will be no NHL season.

While Montoya, selected sixth overall in the entry draft, is believed asking for essentially the same deal an 18-year-old Dan Blackburn received to come out of Kootenay as the 10th-overall selection three years ago, organization sources have told The Post that Glen Sather is adamant against giving that deal to the University of Michigan junior.

As have other GMs, Sather has negotiated by invoking the threat of a far new, more restrictive entry-level system than the one currently in place, but there is no guarantee at all that the players’ association would agree to including retroactive language to cover those previously selected under the presiding document.

While the Rangers and Montoya continue to exchange proposals, it’s believed the goaltender will make his decision by early next week. It’s more likely than not he will return to Ann Arbor if he cannot attain the cap.

According to a source, Sather has said that he does not believe Montoya would lose much ground in his development by returning to school for another year, but – if it wasn’t that way before – it seems absurd that the team would lose a year in which Montoya could work with Allaire on a daily basis without the scrutiny that would accompany such an arrangement on Broadway, and without the pressure to rush the kid up too soon.

Allaire, who did a brilliant job in Phoenix with Sean Burke and helped mold a 20-year-old Jose Theodore in Montreal, described himself by phone yesterday as “a believer in the hybrid game, a balance between stand-up and butterfly.”

Interestingly, Montoya at the draft described himself as a “hybrid goaltender.”

The Rangers and head coach Tom Renney announced the addition of both Allaire and long-time Ottawa assistant Perry Pearn to the staff. With one likely hire remaining – of, more likely than not, a recently retired player – these in essence are the replacements for Sam St. Laurent (more a consultant than a goaltending coach), Terry O’Reilly and Ted Green.

The Rangers have spoken with Adam Graves about a position on the staff but the New York icon, who had also been approached by MSG to replace Brian Mullen as radio commentator, told Sather that he will remain in Toronto, where his family is set to move into a new house.

Graves, who rejected an offer from Ottawa to join Bryan Murray’s coaching staff, is pursuing a television job after a successful run during the playoffs. Sylvain Lefebvre has expressed interest in the assistant’s job. Nick Fotiu will remain in Hartford as Ryan McGill’s assistant.